


The Poetry of Magic, Part 1

by elfin



Series: The Poetry of Magic [1]
Category: Jonathan Creek (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 17:14:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfin/pseuds/elfin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An almost fatal incident during a show brings Adam and Jonathan closer</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Poetry of Magic, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> first published in 2000

_'Klaus loves Jonathan and he'd be lost without him. They really feed off each other and they are totally fond of each other and share the same feelings of triumph about the work they do.' - Stuart Milligan from "The World of Jonathan Creek"._

The evening actually started at lunchtime, around one, at The Vault in Leicester Square. After that they popped in to The Moon Under Water, because it was traditional, then on to the Zoo Bar for cocktails at Happy Hour. From the Zoo bar it was out to Fleet Street to spend a couple of hours in Adam's favourite underground pub and from there to a strip joint. Usually the group would disperse then. Adam and Jonathan would pick up two women, one each, both of whom would eventually leave with them and who would invariably wind up in bed with Adam. But tonight, for whatever reason, they left the strip club alone and they didn’t go back to Adam’s, not immediately. They found their way to a fantastic Japanese restaurant where they enjoyed a large and varied selection from the menu along with several bottles of the restaurant's best champagne. Adam covered the bill and paid for a taxi to all-night jazz club where they sat at the bar and raced one another down lines of tequila shots and usually flavoured vodkas. 

It was five thirty on the morning after when Adam finally called his chauffeur and they were whisked off to his luxury suburb mansion, 'Maskelyne Manor', in total comfort with a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon to end a perfect night. As the sun rose outside the thick curtains, Adam and Jonathan sat side by side on the expensive white leather sofa in the opulent lounge.

Closing his eyes, Adam let his eyes close. He was sure that if he thought about it hard enough he might just be able to remember his own name, but he couldn’t be bothered. Next to him, Jonathan was shifting uncomfortably, trying to get comfortable with Adam’s arm in the way and helpfully he lifted it out of the way and draped it over Jonathan’s shoulder. Jonathan snuggled down against him, breath evening out as he slid towards sleep.

"That clock's too loud," Adam muttered. 

Jonathan apparently agreed, nodding his head. "When did you get that?"

"Get what?"

"The clock.”

He was already confused. His brain didn’t seem to be firing right. "What clock?"

But Jonathan was already snoring in his ear and he had a moment to register that before he fell asleep himself and didn’t wake again until gone lunchtime.

~ 

Despite a headache that was threatening to split his skull in half at any minute, Adam's mind instantly conceived a devilish plan the moment he walked into the auditorium and spotted his consultant lying on his back at the edge of the stage, eyes closed, oblivious to the activity happening around him. Utilising the familiar props of one silk handkerchief and a glass of day-old water, Adam dipped the material in the glass and held the dripping cloth over Jonathan's face. 

Jonathan lifted his head and hands at the same time, swatting at the source of the water while reaching to steady his pounding head. He dropped back to the wooden boards heavily, screwing his eyes shut.

"You're a bastard, Adam, if I haven't told you recently."

Throwing the cloth across the stage, hoisting himself up to sit next to Jonathan's head, Adam too lay back, legs dangling from the stage. "You left rather abruptly this morning."

"I wasn't sure what you'd do if you woke up with me next to you. You might have tried to kiss me or something." Adam's reply was in all his expression, which Jonathan missed completely. "What the hell were we drinking last night?"

"I think the problem was more the vast quantities of vodka after midnight."

"We're getting too old for these binges."

"Nonsense." 

When he next opened his eyes, Adam found himself staring up the very short skirt of one of his assistants. 

"Gayle." 

"Adam." She lifted her foot out from her expensive, high-heeled shoe and stroked her toes along the column of his neck, teasing with every movement. 

He smiled contentedly, reaching for her, kissing the base of her foot. "Good morning, you vision of beauty."

He heard Jonathan sigh quietly as she greeted him in a less personal way and turned onto his side, watched Gayle saunter out towards the dressing rooms then gazed at Jonthan who asked him sarcastically, 

"How do you cope with it?"

Adam smiled, lifting his head. "A lot better than you do."

"What do you mean by that?"

He smiled. "You really don't see it, do you? As many women show an interest in you as they do in me, you just don't realise it. Prime example last night, that barmaid in the Zoo Bar. She was all over you and you did nothing about it."

Jonathan frowned, clearly trying to remember back to the Leicester Square cocktail bar. "Adam... I'm not looking for casual sex, believe it or not."

"Surely any sex would do."

"Can we change the subject?" 

"When was the last time?"

"Adam!" 

Both men were saved from any further discussion when they were blinded by the stage manager switching on every stage and house light.

"Technical in ten, people!" 

~

Jonathan had seen this routine more often than he'd seen Adam with a different girl on his arm. The Water Tank illusion was among the oldest of all the big stage illusions as well as being among the most risky. During each and every rehearsal they ran through this one trick simply to keep in practice, to make sure it always ran smoothly. 

And so it was that Jonathan was standing at the side of the stage one night watching the routine yet again and running it along in his mind at the same time. Four assistants tied the knots in the ropes around Adam's ankles and wrists and two members of the audience checked they were for real. Four men lifted Adam and dropped him carefully into the tank. A couple of minutes of thrashing around for good measure and then he went still for the mirror and dummy to drop into place.... 

Only on this night he didn't go still.... 

Jonathan counted another five seconds before grabbing the fire axe kept just to the side of the stage curtains and ran on, swinging the heavy blade in a short arc that brought the sharp metal into sudden and irresistible contact with the front of the tank. The special glass shattered, thick shards mixing with water as the cold liquid cascaded out of the tank. The worst the front row of the audience got was wet feet - the tank had been placed and designed so that in this eventuality it could be smashed open without threat to the public. 

Jonathan knelt in the glass-filled puddle on the stage, tearing the hood and blindfold from Adam's head. 

“Adam!”

With shaking hands he checked for a pulse and found one, but he wasn’t breathing. He was drowning. Tipping Adam’s head back, pinching his nose, Jonathan breathed into his mouth and waited for a count of five-one-thousand before doing it again. Then again. And again. Until a thousand years later Adam coughed violently, spluttering up water from his lungs and stomach. Immediately Jonathan rolled him onto his side, soothing him until the coughing fit subsided but as soon as it did, Adam slipped into unconsciousness. 

Stage hands had already unfastened the restraints that bound the magician's wrists and feet. They assured him that an ambulance was on its way. All Jonathan could do now was check he continued breathing through a litany of reassurance that Adam wasn’t hearing.

By now the shocked silence that had fallen over the audience had subsided into chattering; concern and fear for the performer's life. Two security men went to the front of the stage, the spotlights picking them out as they asked for everyone to remain calm and reassured them that Adam Klaus was going to be okay. If they could just stay in their seats until the ambulance arrived, they could leave once the medics were helping Adam and if they held onto their ticket stubs, they could get a refund or tickets to another show at the box office from tomorrow.

Jonathan heard it all but only partially, mostly oblivious to it all. Time felt as if it was crawling by. Later, someone would promise him that the emergency services took only minutes to reach the theatre. Yet as Jonathan knelt in the glass and water on the stage, it felt as if hours were passing as Adam's hand seemed to grow cold in his grasp and his failure to respond was starting to scare Jonathan. 

"Come on, Adam.” He tried to sound cheery. “You don't want to go all quiet before your audience, do you?" Adam remained deathly still were he lay. "You'll certainly make the front pages of the papers with this one.”

When an ambulance man finally, finally crouched beside him and gently pulled him away he wasn't sure what to feel; relief, or fear that once Adam left his sight he'd never see him again.

"Jonathan, isn't it?" He was helped to his feet and only then did he realise that not only was he shaking, his knees and hands hurt. Looking down in confusion he swayed dangerously at the sight of his own blood soaking through his jeans. "Why don’t you come with me, Jonathan?" He was led carefully out toward the same ambulance that other medics were wheeling Adam's gurney toward. "He's going to be fine, thanks to you." Jonathan barely heard the reassurances being offered to him. He was feeling hot, and slightly dizzy and luckily, the ambulance man was ready for it when he fainted.

He came to in a swiftly moving ambulance, sirens blaring as it cut through the city traffic out towards the Royal Hospital. He struggled to sit up, eyes looking over the still form on the other bed. 

"Adam...." 

One of the ambulance crew sat down next to Jonathan, stilling him with a gentle hand on his arm.

"Your friend's going to be fine. You saved his life back there."

"He won't wake up...."

"He’s going to be fine. We're keeping him warm, keeping him monitored. Once we get to hospital he'll be checked over and made comfortable. They may need to drain any remaining liquid from his lungs, but he should make a quick and full recovery." Jonathan tried to relax, to accept that Adam wasn't going to die. "You have some deep cuts in your hands, knees and legs which they'll treat in A&E." 

Jonathan nodded without really hearing the words. His eyes never left Adam's face, covered as it was by an oxygen mask. By the looks of it, his wet clothing had been removed and he was wrapped in a heated blanket. A steady bleeping was coming from a monitor attached to his chest. But it was steady, and from what Jonathan could tell it was a strong heartbeat.

From the moment they arrived at the hospital, all responsibilities for himself and Adam were taken from him. The nurse who settled him on a bed in A&E and pulled the curtains around them knew about what had happened and he was glad of that when she returned after a couple of minutes to find him with tears sliding down his face. 

For a short time she just sat with him until he got himself under control, then she cleaned his wounds, picked the small shards of glass from him and dressed his hands. He needed three stitches in his right knee and a couple of butterfly stitches in his left. 

They'd already moved Adam to a semi-private room by the time she'd finished with Jonathan, and on her recommendation they put her patient in the second bed overnight. Jonathan eventually fell asleep, with the aid of a gentle sedative, to the soft rhythms of the monitors keeping check on Adam. 

~ 

**MAGICIAN SAVED FROM WATERY GRAVE  
There was drama at the Prince of Wales theatre last night when a trick went almost tragically wrong for illusionist Adam Klaus.   
With his wrists bound and a hood over his head, Klaus was dropped into a tank of freezing water from which he was supposed to miraculously escape. Instead he had to be rescued by his creative consultant, Jonathan Creek, who ran onto the stage with a fire axe and smashed open the glass tank when he realized something was wrong.   
No one was hurt in the incident. Creek gave Klaus mouth-to-mouth until the arrival of the ambulance crew. Both men were rushed to the Royal Hospital and kept in overnight. Jonathan Creek should be released this morning, and Adam Klaus is said to be well on his way to making a complete recovery.   
Audience figures will undoubtedly skyrocket when the show reopens.**

Maddy threw the paper onto the passenger seat before opening the boot of her Volvo and dropping her bags inside.

"You go away for two weeks...." she muttered as she started the car engine. 

~

Jonathan felt an almost overwhelming relief when Adam opened his eyes around midday the following morning. Having been discharged earlier on in the day he'd spent the last few hours sitting by Adam's bedside, holding his hand and waiting for some sign that everything was going to be all right. 

Now, finally, Adam was looking at him in measured confusion. 

"Hi."

"Jon...." He swallowed painfully.

"Take it easy. You're in hospital, but you're going to be fine."

"Why...?"

"The Water Tank. Do you remember? You were supposed to escape." Reflex tightened Jonathan's fingers around Adam's hand for a moment. "You didn't. I had to smash the tank to get you out."

Adam just watched him for a few seconds and Jonathan didn’t know if he understood or not, but his eyes closed again and with a deep breath he drifted back to sleep. The nurses had said he would sleep a lot during the day, his body healing.

When the door opened behind him Jonathan turned, expecting to be able to report to one of the nurses that Adam had regained consciousness at least. He could hardly believe how relieved he was to see Maddy standing in the doorway.

"Hey you." She closed the door behind her and stepped up to him, rubbing his shoulder gently. "Playing detective not good enough for you now?" Standing behind where he was sitting, she wrapped her arms around him, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "You're a hero."

He squeezed her arm with his fingers, almost unconsciously maintaining his hold on Adam's hand. "I just did it. I took a first aid course ages ago...."

She released him, pulled up another chair and Jonathan watched her look over Adam before she looked at him. Keeping her voice low, she said, "The papers said they rushed you both here."

Jonathan showed her his free hand, the dressings on his palm and fingers. "Both hands, and stitches in both knees from where I knelt in the glass on the stage. I didn't even notice it."

"And him?"

"They're keeping him under observation. He stopped breathing for a couple of minutes, had water in his lungs. They want to make sure there are no side-effects." 

Maddy nodded and he understood that she too just needed to accept that they were both okay; that this was just a scary accident that was over now. "Is there anything you need?"

"Well... yeah." He hesitated. "Actually I could do with a lift out to my place so I can change but I need to come straight back. I...."

"You want to stay close by." He nodded sheepishly. "My bed's yours as long as you want it. Come on, I'll run you home." 

Jonathan stood, squeezing Adam's hand before finally letting go. As they stepped out into the corridor, he asked belatedly, "I'm so sorry... how was New York?" 

~

Jonathan was back in Adam's room several hours later, washed and changed and feeling slightly more human than he had since waking in the hospital bed at six-thirty that morning. To his relief, Adam was sitting up and looking a lot healthier than he had only hours before. The monitors had been switched off, although the saline drip was still in place. There was a doctor at his side, a large collection of "Get Well Soon" cards already on the windowsill and bedside cabinet, and a huge bunch of red and white roses in one corner. 

They waited until the doctor left, with an assurance that Adam was doing fine and would hopefully be home in a few days, then Jonathan approached the bed while Maddy read the card still sitting in amongst the flowers. 

_'Jonathan. You were amazing. All the best for a swift recovery, with love and thanks, Kitty'_

She plucked it out with her fingers and handed it to Jonathan who took it but didn’t look at it. He was at Adam’s bedside, unsure now of where to put his hands, with an expression he guessed must have looked a bit loopy.

"You're awake...."

"Thanks to you." Adam reached out, snagging Jonathan's fingers with his own, avoiding touching his bandages. "They told me you saved my life. You smashed the glass?"

Jonathan nodded, turning his hand in Adam's to return the gesture. "We'll need a new tank. Sorry about that...."

Adam held tighter, ignoring his apology. "Thank you for saving my life, Jonathan," he said pointedly.

Jonathan perched on the edge of the bed. "Do you remember what went wrong?"

Adam shook his head. "I keep trying to remember. The last thing I was aware of was being dropped into the water."

"You didn't pull the switch with the mirror. That's how I knew something was wrong."

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m just relieved you’re okay.”

A heavy silence fell between them and Jonathan was almost relieved when one of the nurses came in and ordered them to leave her patient to rest. 

"I'll come back later," he promised, reassuring Adam that he wouldn't abandon him here. He knew how much the man hated hospitals. At least this time it had been serious enough that the jokes hadn't started yet. 

~

**Two Weeks Later**

Once again they aborted the rehearsal and this time Adam stormed from the stage. 

Jonathan let out a deep, controlled breath as he met the concerned gazes of the two stage hands and their manager.

"He'll be all right," he tried to assure them. But Geoff wasn't convinced.

"Why does he keep trying it? Why not just let it go, we've plenty of other material...."

"It's that thing of getting straight back on the horse, isn't it?" Jonathan sounded weary even to his own ears. "Look, let's leave it for today. Tell everyone to go home. I'll talk to him." 

Easier said than done. They'd tried the Water Tank five times today and five times Adam had panicked and stopped proceedings at some point before he was placed in the water. So he knew Adam wouldn’t be in the mood for a conversation because at best he’d be pissed at himself and at worst he’d be embarrassed by what he was surely seeing as his own cowardice rather than natural reaction to the contraption he almost lost his life in. Jonathan wanted to drop the trick entirely from the act, the same way Geoff did, but Adam wouldn’t have it. 

He closed the dressing room door and leaned back on it, eyes settling on Adam in the mirror. 

"Don't say anything," he was warned. But Jonathan had never been one for learning when to keep his opinions to himself and when not to.

"Why don't we drop it from the show?" 

Jonathan closed his eyes in order not to witness the destruction caused by Adam's chair careering into the cabinet against the far wall.

"Drop it? And why should we want to do that?"

He sighed. "You have every right to be scared."

"Scared?" Adam laughed, coming to stand inches from Jonathan. "Of what? A trick I've performed a hundred times? What's there to be scared of?"

"Adam...." But he was off, turning and striding to the middle of the room, returning, going back, pacing. Jonathan watched the broad shoulders as they shook.

There was anger and fear in the voice that continued. "I have no choice. If I don't do that trick now, I may never do it again. You weren't in there." He spun around, eyes blazing. "You don't wake up every night in a cold sweat because every breath you take is liquid fire! Every dream is a nightmare where I'm drowning." 

For a moment, all Jonathan could do was stare at him. And then the banks burst. "And what do you think's been haunting my dreams, Adam? All I see when I close my eyes is you lying on that stage surrounded by water and glass. All I can hear is my own heartbeat! I've dreamt every possible variation: that you didn't start breathing again, that you died there on the stage, trussed up for a trick that I thought up." He pushed away from the door. "I've seen a drowned man, Adam. I wake up with your blue face staring back at me in the darkness. You weren't breathing! Do you know what that means? I could have killed you. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have been in that tank!"

"Jonathan...."

"Don't." He turned, opening the door and mumbling an apology before leaving. He didn't stop running until he was out on the pavement faced with the stark reality of London traffic. 

~

Maddy brought the Volvo to a stop in the gravel driveway of Maskelyne Manor. The hall light was on but no lights other they could see.

"Are you sure he's here?"

Sunk into the passenger seat, almost lost in his thick grey duffel coat, Jonathan nodded. "He'll be out back on the patio or next to the pool with a large drink despite doctor’s orders."

"How do you know he'll be alone? Maybe he's found company."

But Jonathan was already shaking his head. "Adam only has women around for two reasons; sex and dinner dates. And I guarantee he isn’t in the mood for either. He's in there, alone except for his Bengal tiger, brooding." He sat up. "Thanks for the lift."

"That's okay."

A moment later he was reaching for her. For the last two weeks they'd spoken every night. Jonathan had gone home once Adam had been released from hospital, but she’d called him every to check up on him and he’d called her at all hours, waking from nightmares and just needing to hear another voice. She hugged him tight for longer than was probably needed before letting him go and watching him through the windscreen as he ambled away from the car and around the side of the house, lifting the latch on the gate. Apparently Adam’s pet wasn’t around because he vanished from view, closing the gate behind him.

She sat for a while longer, the engine idling, her mind wandering. Jonathan had always stuck her as someone who'd do anything for a quiet life, but his willingness to let her lead him into dangerous situations and the risks he took to get to the solutions didn’t support that theory. She knew she had turned his life upside-down, taking care to wind herself into his existence until she was an important part of it. But however much she wanted to believe that she was the most important person in Jonathan’s life now, she knew it was wishful thinking because Adam got there first. Adam had been a part of Jonathan's life long before she had. She just hadn’t seen their interdependence before, or maybe just hadn’t acknowledged it. For whatever reason, since the incident with the water tank Adam’s presence was becoming more obvious to her, their places in Jonathan’s life were starting to overlap. She just didn’t know where or why.

~ 

With his hands stuffed deep into his pockets, Jonathan walked along the path to the back of the house, coming out at the edge of the large garden. The back patio doors were thrown open, light spilling out from the lounge. He could hear the gentle squeak of the large garden swing and rounding the corner he saw Adam seated there, glass of whiskey in his hands, bottle on the flagstones next to him. 

He called out as he approached but Adam didn’t seem surprised to see him. 

When he got close enough to see the exhaustion in Adam’s pearl-green eyes he stopped and said, "Hey."

Adam silently invited Jonathan to sit with him, handing him the bottle which Jonathan took, but he said nothing and they sat together in comfortable quiet for a while, swinging gently back and forth. A few minutes later, Adam rose and disappeared inside for a moment, only to return with a glass for his guest. 

Jonathan took it and poured himself a healthy measure before handing the bottle back. "Thanks. Sorry about... back at the theatre." He took a long drink of the fine drink, alcohol burning a trail down the back of his throat.

Adam shook his head. "No, I'm the one who should be apologising. I just... every time I think about being back in that tank it's like a blind panic and I just have to get away."

Jonathan turned slightly, settling back into the corner of the cushioned swing. "It's only to be expected, Adam." 

"Is it?" He sighed. "I suppose it is. The only things I've ever been frightened of before are commitment and doctors." Another swallow of whiskey later, he asked, "Are your nightmares really that bad?"

Jonathan nodded, "Yes, they are really that bad." 

Adam sighed softly. "I owe you."

"No, you don't. Please. I can't live the rest of my life thinking that you think that you owe me. I'm not sure I could cope. I did what anyone would have done. I just happened to get there first."

"You gave me mouth-to-mouth."

Jonathan chuckled. "That is the recognised method of resuscitation for someone who's stopped breathing." He smiled. "Don't worry, I didn’t use tongue." They sat for a time, drinking slowly, relaxing again in one another's company. "If you really won’t drop the trick, we could try some situational therapy."

Adam looked across at his friend, "What?"

"Situational therapy. You know. You spend some time just sitting in the empty tank. Then when you're happy, we add water and you just... swim around in it. Take it a step at a time until you're used to it all again."

"That's... not actually a bad idea."

Jonathan smiled, but it faded after a few moments. "I'd be happier if we knew what went wrong."

Adam shrugged. "They did all sorts of tests and scans at the hospital, didn't find anything wrong with me, brain-wise."

"And you still don't remember anything?” 

"Nothing more than I told you. After I went into the water there’s nothing. It's a blank." He smiled. "Another mystery for you." Jonathan rolled his eyes. It wasn’t that his sideline with Maddy embarrassed him, not anymore, but now and again he did feel silly when Adam talked about it. "Hey, you should be proud."

"Maybe. Sometimes I can't help wondering... I feel like Miss Marple or someone."

"No. Surely... you're more like Betty Wainthrop." Jonathan laughed and smacked Adam across his arm. "Or, maybe, Brother Cadfael? I mean... you're...."

"...both celibate," they smirked simultaneously. "My love-life's a real joke to you, isn't it?"

"Not a joke," Adam tried to defend himself. "More... a fascination. You deserve to find someone."

"Like you have, you mean?"

Adam surprised him by not immediately spouting some witty come-back. "Not like me." Jonathan watched him look off into the distance, into the darkness of the garden as it fell away from the house and out of the light from inside. "That crush you had on Charlotte Carney, I envied you that. I'd never lusted after anyone for more than 24 hours before getting them into bed. I wonder sometimes how it feels, that anticipation, the thrill of the chase."

"Less of a thrill, more of a living hell of sleepless nights, ever-occupied thoughts and hours of pointless masturbation." He smiled gently.

Adam frowned. "What about this thing with Maddy?"

Jonathan swigged back his whiskey, emptying the glass and holding it up for Adam to fill it again which he did with some surprise. "We've slept together once. I don't know. Every time I think we might... she says something or does something that just annoys or confuses the hell out of me. I mean, okay, it was bound to put a crease in things when I slept with my tax inspector.... " Adam almost choked on his drink. "... on the kitchen table. But that was ages ago."

"And she still talks about it?"

"No. To be Fair. Maybe it's me." He threw back the second whisky in one, almost choking on it, but that was better than trying to untangle the mess that passed for his love life.

Adam stood up and held out his hand. "Come on, before we freeze out here." He’d decided that Jonathan was staying apparently even if Jonathan hadn’t made it that far yet.

 

He listened to Adam locking up and just looked around the room that was as familiar to him as his own lounge. When Adam finally joined him on the sofa, he was holding a small black jewelry box that he handed to Jonathan.

“What’s this?”

“A thank you.”

“Adam, you didn’t have to....”

“I know. But I did.”

Jonathan popped open the small velvet caddy and stared at the contents. A small gold medallion, about 1/2 an inch in diameter, was attached to a thin but expensive gold chain. Imprinted in the gold was the delicate image of Carrefour, calling down the rains.

"Patron saint of magicians." Adam told him needlessly and somewhat inaccurately. 

"It's...." Jonathan was actually lost for words. "Thank you." Lifting the gift from its box and running the chain between his fingers, he turned the medallion in his palm and read the short inscription; 

for the true conjurer among us, A.

"To protect you."

"From the tricks, or the magicians?"

Adam smiled. "Both.”

 

Whatever time it was when Jonathan woke, it was still dark outside the lounge window. He was hot and uncomfortable and opening his eyes he realised why. He was staring up into Adam's sleeping face from his shoulder. They were on the sofa, Adam’s arm was around him, face turned towards him. That was all fine, but Adam’s other hand was on his stomach, agile fingers pushed into the waistband of his jeans. 

Jonathan extracted himself as carefully as he could, not waking Adam as he silently tiptoed out of the lounge and phoned for a taxi. 

~ 

"I woke up next to him!" Jonathan dropped into Maddy's sofa, unaware of the expression on her face and of the exaggerated yawn as she handed him a mug of coffee. "He had his arm around me and his hand.... "

"It's three thirty am, Jonathan."

He stared at her. "Did you hear me?"

She shook her head. "No. Me sitting here is an illusion, I'm actually still upstairs in bed."

Standing, he began to pace the narrow lounge, coffee in hand. "I don’t know what’s happening here but I do know I don’t want to be one of his sodding conquests." 

“What are you talking about?”

"What the hell was I thinking?"

"Jonathan! Will you just sit down!" 

Glaring at her, he sat back onto the sofa and she sat forward from the air chair, touching his knee. "You were drunk! You just fell asleep together and at some point he imagined he was with someone else. I don't understand what you're so freaked out about."

Jonathan took in her words, realizing that firstly he was still drunk, and secondly she was probably right. "There’s just been a vibe of something, ever since the hospital...."

She took a deep breath. "Listen, Jonathan. Two weeks ago, your worst nightmare; a trick goes wrong and Adam is lying on the stage in front of you, not breathing. He's going to die unless you do something. And for what must have felt like an age, you're breathing for him. What did you think? That the experience wasn't going to have a lasting effect on the both of you? That you'd just forget it and go back to normal?" His shoulders dropped. "Suddenly, you've been horribly reminded of the fact that he isn't immortal. Someone who's a very important part of your life could so easily be torn from you, without warning, without thought." 

He watched her sit back and sip her coffee, watched her watching him carefully. He took the small black box from the pocket of his coat and handed to her. 

"Don't tell me, he proposed to you." She missed his smirk as she opened the box carefully. "Wow...."

"A thank you gift."

"It's beautiful." Carefully, she took it out of the box. "Who is it?"

"Carrefour, Voodoo patron of Sorcery, thought of now as the patron saint of magicians, rightly or wrongly. He's part of ancient Voodoo culture. It's believed that when a ceremony is invoked by calling on Carrefour, you're calling on a powerful being who will willingly direct your life towards greatness, but not without a price." She moved across to the arm of his chair and perched there. "What are you doing?"

"Putting it on for you. Come on, turn around." He did, somewhat reluctantly, letting her drop the light jewellery around his neck and fasten it. "I have to say, the inscription is very touching. I'm surprised. I always thought he was an obnoxious git."

"He is." Jonathan tucked the chain and pendant under his T-shirt, glancing at his watch as he did. "Oh God... is that really the time? I'm sorry. I didn't even think."

"Don't worry. You know the sofa-bed's always yours." He smiled. At least it beat Adam's sofa. Just. 

~

"Another abrupt exit," Adam whispered quietly into Jonathan's ear from behind and he quite literally jumped in surprise. 

"Sorry...." He was at a loss to explain himself after Maddy had made it all seem so innocent and he carried on checking the ropes that Adam had been tied with that fateful night. 

Out of the corner of his eye he watched Adam head for his dressing room, but a few steps across the stage he stopped and turned back and smiled. It was only then that Jonathan remembered the gold pendent around his neck.

~

From the back doors to the auditorium, Maddy heard Adam ask, "So what am I doing?"

"Just... get in." Jonathan was leaning on the top of the four-foot high side of the glass tank that sat centre-stage. "Spend some time sitting in it."

"Sitting in it?" Adam looked sceptical but sounded willing. "No water?"

"No water." 

Maddy let the doors close behind her as Adam climbed on to a chair and stepped into the empty tank. She walked up the centre aisle to the edge of the stage, smiling to herself as she watched Jonathan watching Adam with concern. He joined her, eyes not leaving the man now sitting cross-legged in the tank. 

"Therapy?" Jonathan nodded. "Has he said anything, about last night?"

"No. Just commented about me leaving abruptly. Again." 

She frowned. "What do you mean again?" 

~

Blindfolded and bound hand and foot, Adam was helped into the water feet first by the same two men who had done so on that fateful night. Standing next to the tank, Jonathan rolled up his sleeve and reached into the water behind him, taking one of Adam's tied hands into his own.

"When you're ready, Adam." 

Jonathan felt Adam grasping the physical contact he was providing him with before he let himself fall sideways until he became submerged in the water. From the front row Maddy was watching in a rare silence as Jonathan counted to ten and pulled on Adam’s hand until he righted himself and found his feet again. 

Immediately, Jonathan stepped around to the front of the tank and removed the blindfold from around Adam’s head. "Okay?"

Adam nodded, obviously forcing himself to breathe slowly. "I'm okay."

"Want to give it up for today?" They'd come this far since this morning and Jonathan was impressed.

"No. We'll do twenty."

"Sure?"

"Sure." 

The blindfold was replaced and once again Jonathan took a firm hold of Adam's hand at the small of his back.

"When you're ready."

The count to twenty seemed to take forever. When Adam got to his feet this time and the blinder was removed, Adam's breathing was much steadier and easier. Jonathan stood in front of him, smiling proudly. Adam's eyes gleamed as they met Jonathan’s. "Let's do it."

"Adam...."

"Please, Jonathan. I can do this."

As unconvinced as he was, he couldn't refuse. "All right. If you're absolutely sure."

"I am."

They set up slowly, taking every precaution as they always would. Adam changed into fresh clothing before being bound and blindfolded again. Jonathan watched the proceedings from next to the tank, following every move that Adam made, counting in his head, ticking off points on his mental graph that mapped the trick out in real time. The mirror slid into place and having loosened his bindings, Adam swam with practised ease into the tube that ran under the staging and back into a separate tank behind the black velvet backdrop.

With a glance at the front row he could see Maddy sitting at the edge of her seat, unconsciously holding her breath. 

Jonathan ducked under the curtain, continuing the count that he'd started the moment Adam had left his sight.

"...twenty-three... twenty-four... twenty-five..." Adam didn't surface, "...twenty-six... twenty-seven.... Adam!" 

Jonathan put his hands on the side of the second tank and swung his legs over the glass panel, landing feet first in the water with an almighty splash. His shout alerted the stage crew and Geoff followed Jonathan's leap into the front tank. 

Sucking in one deep breath, Jonathan dived under the water, heading for the opening in the base where Adam should have appeared. Peering in, he could see him clawing at the side of the tubing, completely disorientated. Reaching into the wide plastic tube, Jonathan made a grab for Adam's shoulder, pulling the now panicking man towards him. Adam struggled for a moment before he allowed himself to be drawn out and up toward the surface. 

They emerged, Jonathan pushing Adam up against the side of the tank, leaning next to him with a hand on his hand as he caught his breath. While Adam spluttered, Geoff removed his hood and blindfold. Breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through him, Jonathan looked up into Adam's watery eyes, the tremors driving through both of them as they leant against one another. Unable to speak, Jonathan just gripped his friend's shoulder until they were helped out of the tank.

Quick showers in Adam's dressing room warmed them both up again. When Jonathan stepped out, towel-drying his hair, Adam was sitting silently staring into the mirror. At least he smiled when Jonathan appeared. He was wearing one of Adam's denim shirts and a spare pair of jeans someone had dug up - a pair that had obviously belonged to someone three times Jonathan's size.

"No comments please." Adam nodded, looking away, only to be pulled back by Jonathan's hand on his shoulder. "We got half way. That's good for a day's work."

"I want to try again."

Jonathan perched with his ass on the edge of the dressing table, folding the towel as he did so. "Maybe we should leave it for today."

"I can't. If I walk out of here without completing it, I'll never get back in that tank."

At least he could understand that. "Can you tell me what went wrong?"

"I just lost my direction in the tube."

"Okay." Jonathan so desperately wanted to give it up. Never before had a trick been this traumatic. But one look at Adam's face told him they were going to go back and they were going to get it right, for Adam's sanity's sake. "We'll empty the tank," he stated finally.

"Jonathan...."

"We'll go from the top, until you can crawl through that tube backwards with your eyes closed. Then we'll put the water back. Deal?"

Adam nodded, and stood. "Deal."

 

For the next hour they ran through the sequence of events that led to the successful completion of the illusion. Only when Jonathan was happy with the timing would he allow the tank to be refilled. He designed this stuff and that meant that Adam's safety was in his hands. Never before had he felt that so intensely but at the same time their separate roles mattered less than they had before. As always with the show, they were in this together. 

Jonathan fastened the blindfold and the ropes this time around. But after that he stood back and let Adam perform as he needed to. He kept the count in going in his mind the same as he always did and when the time came he went behind the curtain to make sure that Adam did surface in the second tank when he was supposed to. This time he did, without drama and within the time allocated, plenty of time to slip back around the curtain and made his triumphant appearance in a puff of smoke at one side of the stage.

Maddy applauded. Jonathan handed him a towel and said to him, "Don't ever scare me like that again."

~ 

Enjoying the warmth of Maskelyne Manor's indoor pool, Jonathan crossed his arms behind his head, amazed at how stable the large Playing Card floating loungers actually were. His mind was a warm fuzzy mess after the countless bottles of expensive champagne they'd got through since leaving the theatre. After the meal at the restaurant, one of the most expensive he'd ever set foot inside, Jonathan had been surprised when Gayle had turned down Adam's offer of an evening at his place. And Maddy had hooked up with some guy with chest hair she’d met coming out of the Gents.

Adam was sitting on the side of the pool, legs dangling down into the water, feet bare yet his trousers still on.

"I don't recall ever seeing anyone lie there fully clothed before." He took a swig from the two hundred pound bottle of Cristal champagne. 

"Have you ever had a man lying here before?" 

Using his hands, Jonathan paddled over to the side where his glass was waiting for him next to Adam's. He wrapped his fingers carefully around the stem, hesitating when Adam brushed his fingers over the rim of the glass. He looked up, but the other man kept his head lowered. 

"Last night, Jonathan. I wasn't... I don't want you to think...." He glanced up and didn’t speak again until Jonathan met his gaze. "You know my reputation better than anyone."

"Yes, Adam." He liberated his glass and lifted his head to sip at the bubbly, concentrating hard on not tipping the float over. 

They let the silence stretch, until Adam shook his head. "So why do you put up with me?"

He thought it over for a while, and composed his answer in his mind before speaking. "To see it all come together; that magical transformation of Barbie doll parts and cardboard cut-outs littering the floor of the windmill to a live illusion. Your incredible showmanship, taking ideas that are so simple and baffling audiences all over the globe."

Adam raised his eyebrows. "Is that what you find so attractive?" 

Jonathan rested the champagne flute on his chest, holding it still at the base, and closed his eyes. "That, Adam, is a leading question."

"Is it?" He half-purred the query, letting it hang in the air unanswered.

Jonathan put his sudden flush of warmth down to the heat of the room and the pool. The gentle wave of the water and the fine alcohol in his system were all serving to relax him to a point where he was bordering on sleep and he only became aware of his float moving when the head of it touched the side of the pool and his glass was taken from him. Then Adam's hands settled lightly on his shoulders and began a careful massage. He thought he should say something but he was so comfortable, and it was just a massage...

...until it wasn’t. Until Adam unfastened the top two buttons of Jonathan’s shirt and moved his fingers under the thin cotton. He froze in place, felt the heat of Adam’s body as he leaned over him and felt the first touch of his lips to the hollow of his throat. Jonathan tried to sit up, too quickly, and the float flipped out from under him, dropping him into the water with a splash. It took him by surprise and he went under, experiencing a single moment of panic before he was brought to the surface by a strong arm wrapped around his waist.

"Maybe a slight overreaction there, Jonathan?" 

Adam's dry humour was lost on him as Jonathan found his footing and heaved himself out of the water. He sat dripping on the side of the pool in the second set of clothes he'd soaked through today. Adam came up to sit next to him, expression open.

"What are you doing?" Adam sighed but he didn’t answer. "All that I take from you, I don't have to be your ... whatever the hell you think I am." Jonathan pushed himself up to his feet and stood dripping at the pool side. “What is this?”

“It’s nothing, Jonathan.”

"That’s what I thought." 

Turning, he headed for the lounge, dripping onto the expensive deep-pile carpet while Adam’s voice followed him. "Jonathan, wait! Where are you going to go?"

"I'll phone for a taxi, Adam. Some of us are used to it."

He sighed. "You're soaking wet! And exactly how waterproof do you think your mobile is?"

Jonathan stopped mid-way through the lounge. He closed his eyes, wondering why his life always had to be like this; a series of farcical disasters. He turned to look at Adam, standing in the arch that he’d just come through. And he laughed. He couldn't help it. They were standing, dripping wet, facing one another off like they were married.  
"Couldn't borrow another shirt, I suppose?" 

Sometime later, they were settled into opposite corners of the sofa with a log fire popping in the grate and a cafetiere of Java on the table between them, Jonathan dry again.

"I've never made a move on anyone I knew before." Jonathan watched him steadily. "And I've only ever been in love once. Her name was Andrea and it was a long time ago, when I was living in New York. She owned a bar on the corner of West and Fifth called 'Buddies'. I went in one night, after yet another break up, and she served me until six a.m. It was the first time I'd really talked to a woman without some sort of agenda. I went in there every night for a week and we just talked. After eight nights, she asked me out. We dated for two months and four days, and then she just walked out on me. No reason, no explanation. I never saw her again." Jonathan listened, surprised by the admission, touched by it. "I promised myself that no other woman would ever do that to me again. And no woman ever has done. Just one guy." 

Sipping his coffee, Jonathan schooled his expression carefully. He couldn't remember Adam ever talking to him like this before, ever opening up about anything more personal than his last passionate encounter. He was happy just to listen, and to learn.

"When I first came to London, I lived in this little apartment above a strip joint in Soho. There was this jazz club across the road that I used to drink in. It's not there now. One of the performers was a lone sax player called Jim. He was a fantastic player, one of the best I've ever heard. One night I offered to buy him a drink. We talked all night, and the attraction I felt for him.... It scared the hell out of me. I know they say everyone's bisexual whether or not they ever act on it. But...." He shook his head. "I guess I'm trying to convince you that I'm not always the way you think I am." 

"It's very rarely that you surprise me." 

Adam shrugged, "I don't try too often."

Jonathan laughed softly. "And tonight?"

"You've always reminded me a bit of Jim, that same unassuming confidence in what you do, the same unfailing dedication to those around you. Whatever you try you never fail at. But you let us take advantage of all that. I've watched Maddy do it and I know I do it all the time." He leaned forward, touching the tip of his index finger to the pendant hanging from the thin chain around his neck. Jonathan didn’t move, just watched and watched as he sat back. "I hoped giving you that would at least be a reminder that I do appreciate you."

Jonathan traced the line of the gold chain along the curve of his own neck, already used to wearing it. "If you're worried about taking advantage of me... what was that about in the pool?"

Adam smiled a lopsided smile. "Attraction, curiosity. We've been so close these last few weeks...." He leaned back, drinking his coffee. "It won't happen again." But the words were lost in the heated silence that fell between them. 

Maybe if Jonathan's mobile hadn't rung.... 

Adam smiled wanly as Jonathan reached for the phone that had been drying out on the table. "More waterproof than you'd think." He commented quietly, but Jonathan was already being bombarded with the details of Maddy's disastrous evening.

"...such a great time, this bloke was really up for me! I tell you, Jonathan, there's no better passion-killer than to be running your fingers over a guy's chest hair and have it come off in your hands! Anyway, I get home and guess what? I've been burgled! Again! At least this one was tidier! He even took the CD from the stereo before stealing it! And the videotapes that were dumped around the video recorder were stacked neatly in the corner! I think it's tidier than when I left here this morning! So I was wondering if you'd come over, if I paid for a taxi? You're still in London aren't you? I did try your home. I don't actually want to be alone in the apartment tonight, and I need someone to house-sit in the morning while I go out and buy some stronger, bigger locks. Is that all right? Didn't think you'd mind. Jonathan? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" 

~

When the curtain rose on the first performance since the incident, Jonathan was more nervous than he could ever remember being. Adam at least gave the outward impression that he was as composed and relaxed as ever about facing his audience. He made some quip early on about going for a swim later, and got a standing ovation. 

The first act finished with the Water Tank. Even the stage manager, Mike, seemed on edge. He exchanged glances with Jonathan as the mirror slid into place. The few seconds that it took for Adam to swim through the tube to the hidden tank ticked by, and Jonathan stepped back and around the thick backdrop to watch with relief as Adam climbed silently out and changed quickly into the dry costume awaiting him. Just before he stepped out on stage, he reached back and touched Jonathan's hand with cold fingers. For a brief moment, his gesture was returned. And then the crack of the small smoke pellet exploding signalled Adam's miraculous appearance at the side of the stage to the second standing ovation of the night.

Act two went just as smoothly, ending in the visually stunning 'Phantom of the Opera'. A circle of tall candlesticks alight with the amber glow of the flames made the trick appear far more dangerous than it actually was. For Jonathan, it held bittersweet memories. He had created it after spending two weeks waiting for Charlotte Carney to call him. Late one night he'd come up with the idea of a bitter Phantom sending his Christine up in flames. 

The audience was treated to a faultless performance, an illusion as breathtaking in its beauty as it was in its unfolding. Usually vivacious in his delivery, Adam brought a grace to this trick that seemed to stem from an understanding of its creator and from an usual awareness of the illusion's roots. As he did on only the rarest occasions, Jonathan lost himself with the audience. He let the music and the visuals consume him, watching, for once, the illusion and not the workings. 

His applause joined with the third ovation, and he remained standing at the side of the stage long after Adam had exited for the fourth time holding five bouquets of roses and several items of ladies underwear.

Sometime later, Mike approached him with the candle snuffer. "Could you do the honours, Jonathan?"

He nodded, walking out onto the stage and into the circle of candlelight. He reached up to snuff out the first flame when he saw Adam approaching him. It didn't surprise him as much as he thought it might when Adam closed the gap between them and held out his hand, indicating the now empty auditorium. "Thank you. For making all that possible. For making me possible."

Jonathan smiled. "Don't mention it." He hesitated for a moment, before stepping around him to put out the candle flames one by one. 

Adam watched him and waited until he'd finished and the stage was dark before asking, "Can I give you a lift somewhere?"

It sounded like such a simple question, but they both knew that it wasn’t. Despite knowing Adam's reputation, much had been said last night that had at least allayed some of Jonathan’s fears. He did trust Adam, maybe not with his life but certainly with his career and perhaps even with his dreams. 

Finally, he nodded. "How about your place?" 

~

In the candlelit master bedroom of Maskelyne Manor, Adam lay on his back diagonally across the king-size bed. His head pillowed on the other man’s chest, Jonathan lay at right angles to Adam. Between them, the fingers of their left hands played together, lightly entwining, maintaining the intimacy of what had happened. 

They almost hadn't got here. In the car on the way back they'd barely spoken a word to one another, and as the Limo had pulled into the gravelled driveway, Jonathan had considered telling Adam to forget the whole thing. But he'd looked up and something in Adam's expression at that moment had made him feel like he was the only person in the whole world. He knew then how every woman the American had ever hit upon had been taken with him. 

Once the front door closed behind them, Adam didn't give him chance to change his mind. Jonathan shrugged out of his coat and threw it over the banister, and the next thing he knew, Adam had pinned him against that same banister and was kissing him. For a moment he was so surprised he didn't know quite how to react. But he wasn't with someone of limited experience, and as confident fingers wove into his hair, as a strong arm curved around his waist, Jonathan simply gave in. 

Desire so long neglected swamped him with full force. He stroked his tongue over Adam's lips before slipping between them to taste him. Jonathan's confidence grew quickly and he wrapped his arms around Adam, trying to draw him closer while concentrating on keeping his own balance where they stood on the first step up of the wide, grand staircase. 

Adam drew back eventually, sliding his hands down Jonathan's arms. "Come on." 

It was without a doubt the most erotic thing Jonathan could remember anyone ever saying to him; low, quiet, and utterly impossible to refuse. Holding only the ends of Jonathan's fingers within his own, Adam led him up the stairs and into the master bedroom. Once inside, Adam kissed him again, his hands finding their way under his shirt and T-shirt. At that first touch, Jonathan broke out of the kiss, but he found himself clinging to Adam, not daring to let go. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” Adam drew Jonathan's head back and brushed his lips over his jaw. Lightly, he ran the tip of his tongue across Jonathan’s earlobe, biting gently, pushing back the errant hair, following the curve around and into his ear. Jonathan moaned something incoherent, unable to do anything more than hold Adam tight and ride out the waves of arousal building in him. Adam's tongue against and inside his ear was driving him crazy but it was worse when he stepped back a little and rested his forehead against Jonathan’s.

"Like that?"

There was no way he could form the words, so he nodded. And smiling, Adam kissed him again. 

Only when agile fingers start to undo the buttons on his shirt did Jonathan experience a moment of panic but it was apparently something Adam was expecting because he slid one arm around Jonathan’s waist and drew him closer, tracing a delicate line with his tongue along the curve of Jonathan's jaw. 

Jonathan cupped his hand around the back of Adam's neck, combing his fingers into the soft dark hair, trying in vain to bring them closer. He couldn't remember being so desperately, painfully aroused. Previously with women he'd feel that he had to be the one in control. Here, now, he could hand that control over to Adam, and he could hardly believe the erotic effect that had on him. 

Adam did try to slow it down, but the driving need was overwhelming them both. Jonathan pushed Adam back for a moment while he shrugged off his shirt and pulled his T-shirt over his head. Adam smiled, looked Jonathan up and down, sending a rush of desire through his body as he watched Adam unbuttoned his own shirt. He savoured the fleeting expression of sudden fear but he knew there wasn’t anything to be scared of. The last thing Adam was going to do tonight was hurt him.

Jonathan stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Adam's neck, bringing them chest to chest and kissing him before either of them could change their minds about this. Adam took his hands and led him to the bed and that’s where Jonathan hesitated again. This was real. This was happening now and something about being on the bed made it unstoppable. But Adam's hands were on him again, his fingers sliding into the waistband of Jonathan's jeans, and when teasing fingers brushed the head of his erection, he practically came there and then. 

Jeans and underwear were disposed of quickly and decision made, exploring one another became easier. Adam rolled Jonathan on to his back, straddling him determinedly. Jonathan yelled as their cocks were brushed one against the other, but Adam quickly reached down and pressed his fingertips into the hard base of his lover's erection, preventing him from coming immediately. 

"Neat trick," Jonathan panted breathlessly. 

Letting go, Adam placed his hands either side of Jonathan's shoulders and sat up on all fours, regarding the naked man beneath him with nothing short of hunger. His smile was as predatory as the deep kiss that followed it. Jonathan's fingers clawed into Adam's hips, and finally the American had mercy. Lowering himself, he wrapped one arm around Jonathan's shoulders and with his other hand grasped their cocks, rubbing them together, bringing them both to a rapid climax. 

Jonathan screamed, nails scraping down Adam's back, unknowingly escalating the other's orgasm. And it was his name on the American's lips, his name that was ripped from Adam along with a stream of bright profanities. Finally he collapsed on to his side, one hand coming to rest in the mess on Jonathan's stomach, the other moving up to tangle in his damp hair. 

 

Adam stroked each of the fingers on Jonathan's left hand through his own before linking them again, rubbing his thumb against the palm.

"You're unbelievable," Jonathan told him truthfully, lovingly.

"You know, sometimes I don't know if you're being serious or sarcastic."

Jonathan chuckled. "Maddy accused me of that. Sometimes I don't know myself. But I think it's safe to assume that if I'm lying talking to someone with whom I've just shared a mind-blowing orgasm and a hot shower, I'm not going to be too big on the sarcasm for a while."

He felt Adam tighten the hold on his hand for a second before resuming his playful caress. 

They had showered together even though neither had the energy to do anything more than wash. Jonathan couldn't believe how at ease he felt. He could feel himself starting to drift off to sleep and turning his head he met the gentle green eyes of his associate, friend and now lover. Adam stroked his hair gently. "I'm not going to run off, this is my house." 

Jonathan nodded. "Just checking." Closing his eyes, he let his mind sink into the bliss of the afterglow. 

~

Sunlight streamed in through the open curtains, warming Adam where he lay sprawled on the bed. Without opening his eyes he knew he was alone. He'd had a shrewd idea that he'd wake up alone anyway. It didn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. He felt incredibly relaxed, contented and with no urge to move quite yet.

Later on, when he did eventually rise, he found the note on the bedside table. 

_another abrupt exit! no surprise, unlike last night. love ya, J._

~ 

Looking out across the West Sussex countryside from the balcony of his windmill home, Jonathan cradled the mug of Camomile Tea in his hands. Maddy would be dropping by anytime; she'd telephoned and garbled on about a guy being shot dead in a park full of elderly men walking their dogs. It sounded like something that could keep him occupied for the day until he had to be at the theatre. 

Any misgivings he might have harboured concerning the previous night had been swept away by the wonderful sensation of absolute oneness with the world. Overhead, the birds were singing. A slight breeze played in the trees and undergrowth at the base of the field that surrounded Ripley Mill. 

He knew what Adam's first words would be to him this evening and they would distil any unease between them. After all, they worked together to produced something spectacular. Neither of them would let a thing as prehistoric as sex get in the way of their joint success. 

On the way home, he'd bought a paper in the village and found a two-page review of the previous night's show.

**MAGICIAN'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE STAGE  
Three weeks ago, illusionist Adam Klaus almost lost his life when a trick went wrong, leaving him drowning in a sealed tank of water in front of a full house audience. Only his quick-thinking creative consultant, Jonathan Creek, saved his life.   
Last night, Adam Klaus gave the performance of his life, proving to his audience that he could still make it look easy. Triumphantly completing the Water Tank illusion, he teased the front row, "Are you as relieved as I am?"   
At the end of the show, as he honoured the first of four curtain calls, he publicly thanked Jonathan Creek for saving his life. Sitting in the front row, I had to add my own thanks to Klaus'. This country almost lost a great showman.   
The next twenty-seven shows have sold out, but I highly recommend booking for future runs. Adam Klaus is one of those unique individuals who can still make me believe in fairy-tales.**

Jonathan could only agree.


End file.
